Complete (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
by ilna
Summary: A phone call leads to a special dinner and an even more special memory.


**Notes:** Mari and Sammy – Thank you for being your wonderful selves every day. I'm grateful for the laughs, the support, the ideas, and above all, the friendship that so quickly turned into family.

Readers and REAL McRollers – Your incredible support is something I never take for granted. Thank you!

 **Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 _Complete (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)_

"I am positive about the date," Steve said into his phone. He spotted Catherine coming toward his office. "Oh, I gotta go." After the person on the other line spoke, he said, "I will. Okay," and hurriedly ended the call as Catherine opened the door.

"Hey, you ready?" she asked.

"I, uh . . . yeah, just . . . a minute," he said, pocketing his phone.

She glanced around. His desk was completely cleared off.

"What are we waiting for?" she asked.

He inhaled, brow furrowing as he tried to think of an excuse.

She folded her arms. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," he said quickly.

Squinting, she tilted her head. "You . . . are up to something."

He opened his mouth and pointed to himself with exaggerated incredulity. " _Me_?"

"You."

Smiling, he folded his arms. "Not me."

At that moment, Catherine's phone buzzed. Steve nodded to it, now full-on grinning.

"You should get that," he said.

With a final suspicious look at him, Catherine took her phone out of her pocket and looked at the screen. She glanced curiously at Steve and answered the call.

"Grace, honey, what's up?"

" _Hi, Auntie Cath,"_ Grace's bright voice came over the line. _"I was wondering if you want to have dinner tomorrow night. Just me and you. At Café Kaila. They're open late on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays._ "

"I would love to have dinner with you," Catherine said immediately. "But are you sure you don't want to wait till the weekend? What about homework?"

" _It_ _ **has**_ _to be tomorrow,"_ Grace insisted. _"I asked Danno. He said it was okay so long as my homework is done. And it will be. I'll do as much as I can in Study Hall, and I'll finish the rest as soon as I get home._ "

Catherine's brow knitted. "Why does it have to be tomorrow?"

" _It just has to be_ ," Grace said enigmatically. " _I'll tell you at dinne_ r."

"Is everything okay? Do you need to talk? I can come over."

" _No, everything's good, I just want to have dinner tomorrow._ "

"Okay, if you're sure nothing's wrong," Catherine said with a glance at Steve who had a small smile on his face.

" _No, no. Nothing's wrong,"_ Grace assured her. _"Promise_."

Catherine relaxed at the easy tone of Grace's voice. "Okay. I'll pick you up at six then."

" _Okay!_ " Grace bubbled, her excitement clear. " _See you tomorrow! Bye, Auntie Cath!_ "

"Bye, hon." Catherine ended the call, pocketing her phone as she turned back to Steve.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes, chuckling. "Oh, now you're ready."

He just smiled, stepping toward the door and holding it open for her. "Sounds like you've got dinner plans for tomorrow," he said as she walked past him so he could lock the door behind them.

"Yeah." She quirked an eyebrow at him. "She insisted it had to be tomorrow . . ." she said leadingly as they walked toward the exit.

"Oh yeah?" he asked, feigning surprise. "Huh. Wonder why?"

She laughed. "Stop it, I know you know what this is about." When he tried to look innocent, she lowered her voice and continued, "Remember, I have ways of making you talk."

He leaned closer to murmur, "As much as I enjoy your _ways_ , my lips are sealed on this one." He straightened and smiled at her. "It's nothing bad, I promise. In fact, you're gonna like it. A lot."

* * *

The next evening, Catherine and Grace were led to a table at Café Kaila. They thanked the host and took their seats.

Once their drink orders had been placed, Catherine looked across at Grace and smiled. "Now, are you finally going to tell me why you wanted to have dinner and why it had to be _tonight_?"

Smiling, Grace pulled a small gift from the bag draped over the back of her chair and held it out.

"What's this?" Catherine asked in surprise, taking it from her.

"You remember how at the Shop with a Cop thing this year, Kaitlyn said it was kind of like our anniversary, since that's when we met them?"

"Yeah," Catherine said, nodding.

"So today is an anniversary for us," Grace stated simply. She nodded at the gift. "Open it."

Catherine opened the purple wrapping paper to reveal a small silver frame with a photo of Catherine and Grace, holding their hands out happily on display for the camera.

Her mouth opened slightly. "Oh, wow." She looked up. "Is this from the first time we got our nails done together?"

Grace beamed. "Yep, three years ago today. Sunday, January 13th, 2013."

"I've actually been looking for this picture," Catherine said, looking down at it. "I thought it would make a nice addition to the photo wall." She looked back up and gave her a genuine smile. "Thank you, Grace."

Grace bit her lip for a moment, then continued, "Something important happened that day. Do you remember?"

Catherine smiled at her softly. "I do."

 _ **January 13, 2013**_

 _A bright-eyed, smiling ten-and-a-half-year-old Grace admired her freshly painted nails as she and Catherine followed the host to their table at Café Kaila for brunch. She bumped into an empty chair, and Catherine paused to look back and check on her._

 _Dropping her hands, Grace took a couple quick steps to reach Catherine's side again. "That was a really nice place. I like it even better than where I go with my mom."_

 _Catherine smiled at her. "Maybe you should take your mom there sometime."_

" _Yeah," Grace said, returning her smile happily._

 _They took their seats, and their server appeared a moment later to take their drink orders._

" _Ooh, I like that color," the young woman said, nodding to Grace's nails._

" _Thank you!" Grace beamed._

" _And it looks like Mom got the same color." She smiled at them. "That's so sweet."_

" _Thank you," Grace repeated politely. "But this is . . . Catherine," she said after a slight hesitation. "We just got manicures at the nicest place."_

" _Oh, lucky you! I'm jealous." She smiled again. "I'm also Holly, and I'll be taking care of you today. What can I get you drink? Some orange juice or pineapple juice?"_

" _Could I have a glass of orange juice, please?" Grace asked._

" _Me, too," Catherine said with a smile._

" _Of course. I'll go get your juice while you look over the menu."_

" _Thank you," Catherine said, and with a final smile, Holly walked away._

 _Catherine picked up the menu in front of her, but noticed Grace was biting her lip as she looked at the tablecloth, seemingly deep in thought._

 _"Grace, are you okay?" she asked, putting her menu down._

 _Grace looked up at her. "I was just thinking . . ."_

 _When she didn't immediately continue, Catherine asked, "What about?"_

" _About what I should call you."_

 _Catherine raised her eyebrows, surprised._

" _When we first met you said I could call you Catherine, but now . . ." Grace's voice trailed off, and she bit her lip again._

 _Catherine tilted her head thoughtfully. "Well, what do you want to call me?"_

" _I thought . . ." she began a little uncertainly. "Maybe I could call you Aunt Catherine?"_

 _Catherine let out a small gasp._

" _And not just 'cause you're kinda like Uncle Steve's girlfriend," Grace continued, speaking more quickly now. "But because you do nice things with me and you talk to me and listen to me like . . . well, like family."_

 _Catherine blinked at the tears in her eyes, and Grace looked worried._

" _Why are you crying? Is that not okay?" She shook her head. "I won't call you Aunt Catherine if you don't want me to."_

 _Catherine reached across the table for her hand. "No, no, honey. These are happy tears. You just made me very happy. I would love it if you called me Aunt Catherine."_

 _Grace smiled in relief. " 'Happy tears,' " she said, trying the phrase out. She nodded. "I like that. It's a good name for it."_

" _Yeah," Catherine agreed._

" _Aunt Catherine," Grace said again, smiling happily._

 _Catherine's smile grew at hearing the moniker again, and she squeezed Grace's hand before letting go._

 _After settling back in her chair, Grace twisted her lips, thinking once again._

 _Catherine just smiled, waiting for her to speak._

" _Uncle Steve calls you 'Cath' a lot," Grace said finally._

 _Catherine nodded. "Yeah, he does."_

" _I've heard Danno say it, too."_

" _A lot of people do."_

" _Yeah. And we_ _ **are**_ _in Hawaii . . ."_

" _Yeah . . .?" Catherine said curiously._

 _Grace smiled warmly. "I'm really glad you're on the island now . . . Auntie Cath."_

 _Catherine's answering smile was bright. "Me, too, honey. Me, too."_

"That was the first time you called me Auntie Cath," Catherine said, looking at the now teenage girl seated across from her. "I'll never forget that."

"I had to figure out when the exact day was," Grace said. "I knew it was in January because I remember writing the tag on your Christmas gift. I wrote 'Catherine,' and I remember writing it felt kind of strange. Like . . . incomplete, you know?"

Catherine smiled. " 'Incomplete'," she repeated quietly.

"And then as soon as I thought of 'Auntie Cath,' I knew it was right. Complete, you know?"

"Yeah, it was," Catherine said, smiling softly. "It _is_. And now you're going to be one of maids of honor. How about that?"

Grace grinned happily. "I asked Danno to help me figure out which day it was," she continued. "And _he_ said we should ask Uncle Steve because he remembers specific dates."

Catherine laughed fondly. "Yes, he does."

"Danno said I should ask Uncle Steve about the first time he ever saw you."

"You should," Catherine said with a fond smile. "It's a good story."

Grace smiled in satisfaction. "So _that's_ why we had to have dinner tonight. It's the anniversary of the first time I called you Auntie Cath. At first I wanted to get manicures, too, but then I thought maybe we wouldn't have time for manicures _and_ dinner."

"Maybe we can do anniversary manicures this weekend," Catherine suggested.

Grace's eyes lit up, and Catherine grinned.

"Say . . . Sunday? Followed by brunch?"

Grace beamed. "It's a date!"

Catherine smiled broadly at her infectious enthusiasm.

"You know," she said. "I've always thought it's not as important _what_ we call each other, it's what we feel that's important."

Grace nodded earnestly. "Like you and Uncle Steve."

Catherine smiled. "Right." She leaned forward a little. "But you know what else?"

Grace leaned forward as well, eyes widening slightly. "What?"

"I'm really, _really_ glad you call me Auntie Cath."

Grace's answering smile could have lit the room.

* * *

That night, Steve was on the couch when Catherine returned. She greeted Cammie who was waiting for her at the door with a kiss on the head.

"Good dinner?" Steve asked.

Catherine smiled broadly. "Great dinner."

She set her purse and keys on the end table as he scooted over to make room for her sit.

After a quick kiss, his lip quirked in a knowing smile. "Told you you'd like it."

She grinned. "I did. I loved it." She settled against his side as he draped an arm over her shoulders to pull her closer. "I heard you helped Grace figure out the date," she said.

"Yeah," he said. "I remember you coming here after you dropped Grace off that day." He shook his head, a fond look on his face. "Your smile when you came in that door. . ."

 _Catherine entered the house, her expression positively glowing, and set down her keys and purse._

 _Steve came out of the kitchen and smiled. "Hey." He crossed the room to kiss her. "That must have been some manicure," he said, looking at her face after he pulled back._

 _Catherine shook her head, one hand on his chest and the other on his bicep as he held loosely around the waist._

" _No?" he asked._

" _I mean, yes, it was great, but it was what happened after."_

 _He cocked his head in question._

 _Catherine looked almost giddy as she told him, "Grace asked if she could call me Aunt Catherine."_

 _Steve smiled broadly. "Of course she did, she's crazy about you. Apparently she was talking about going for the manicures and brunch all week. Danny said she was_ _ **very**_ _specific about it being 'brunch.' "_

 _Catherine shook her head in amazement. "I was . . . kinda floored. I've never been Aunt Catherine to anyone before."_

 _His fingers on her waist tightened. "I know the feeling."_

 _She smiled softly at him, squeezing his arm gently._

" _She's amazing, isn't she?" he said._

 _"Yeah, she is."_

 _He clicked his tongue, smiling. "And you were nervous about meeting her a couple years ago." He nodded at her. "Now look at you. Aunt Catherine."_

 _She grinned. "Actually, it's Auntie Cath."_

 _He grinned back. "Perfect."_

 _She sighed happily. "Being stationed here now . . . it's gonna be nice getting to spend more time with her."_

 _He nodded. "Yeah."_

 _"Danny, too," she said sincerely. "And Kono and Chin."_

 _He quirked an eyebrow. "Anyone else?"_

 _She smiled wryly, and took on a thoughtful expression. "Mm . . . Kamekona's pretty interesting, too."_

 _"That's it?"_

 _"No one else comes to mind . . ."_

 _He gave her a mock glare, and she laughed, leaning up and kissing him thoroughly._

 _After a long moment, she pulled back and said, "Thank you."_

 _He raised his eyebrows at her serious tone. "What for?"_

 _"Because of you, I have Grace Williams in my life."_

 _He smiled and nodded his complete understanding. "For that, you are very welcome."_

"I've got quite a few kids calling me Aunt Catherine now," Catherine mused with a smile. "But Grace was the first." She looked at him. "And I am still grateful to you that I have her in my life."

"You," he said and leaned over to kiss her temple, "are still very welcome for that." He leaned his cheek against her hair and sighed contentedly. "I know the feeling."

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed!**

 **Note:** Special thanks to _**lexjl**_ for prompting this story idea!

….

 _Keep track of all the REAL World stories on our Tumblr page - mcrollintherealworld at tumblr dot com - including a chronological list!_

 _You can still join our mailing list by emailing us realmcroll at yahoo dot com with Add me, please! in the subject line._

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